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Georgius Raguseius Against Astrology Luka Boršić and Ivana Skuhala Karasman

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Georgius Raguseius Against Astrology Luka Boršić and Ivana Skuhala Karasman Georgius Raguseius against Astrology Luka Boršić and Ivana Skuhala Karasman This article was originally published in Platonism and its Legacy Selected Papers from the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the International Society for Neoplatonic Studies Edited John F. Finamore and Tomáš Nejeschleba ISBN 978 1 898910 886 Published in 2019 by The Prometheus Trust, Lydney. This article is published under the terms of Creative Commons Licence BY 4.0 Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. The Prometheus Trust is a registered UK charity, no. 299648 www.prometheustrust.co.uk Georgius Raguseius against Astrology Luka Boršić Ivana Skuhala Karasman I. Introduction Raguseius was an Aristotelian philosopher with a twist – which makes him no different than a legion of other Renaissance Aristotelians with a twist. However, Raguseius stands out as an Aristotelian who spent an enormous energy, at least judging on number of pages written, on refutation of divinatory aspect of astrology. As we will briefly sketch towards the end of the text, there was an ulterior motive of the destruction of the traditionally dominant role of astrology: by reinterpreting astrology, Raguseius attempted to patch up the seriously damaged ship of Aristotelianism after the sixteenth century storms. However, the focus of our interest in this text will be put on the pars destruens of his project: his criticism of astrology. Raguseius was so eager to remove the divinatory aspect of astrology and to preserve the mathematical component that he opted to put forth not only his arguments, but explicitly relied on a Platonic arguments of Pico della Mirandola to support his anti-astrological project. II. Life and work of Georgius Raguseius Outside Croatia, Georgius Raguseius (or Raguseus, in his native Croatian Juraj Dubrovčanin, literally: George from Dubrovnik) is not a widely known Renaissance thinker/scientist. Thus it may be convenient to introduce him. A philosopher, theologian and physician, Georgius Raguseius was born in the city of Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik was then an independent republic city-state, today a part of Croatia) in the second half of the sixteenth century, probably shortly after 1550.1 1 The first biography of Raguseius was written by Giacomo Filippo Tomasini and published in Padua in 1630. (Tomasinus (1630) 338–341). This biographical sketch was the source of subsequent (very scarce and scattered) mentions of Raguseius in secondary literature. More recently, Raguseius has been discussed by several Croatian historians of philosophy: Banić Pajnić (1980), Brida (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980) and Josipović (1985, 1993). All the texts except one are available in the Croatian language only. The only extant monograph on Raguseius 320 Platonism and its Legacy “Ragusa” was the Latin and Italian form of the name of the city of Dubrovnik, hence it serves as the origin of his name – Raguseius. His parents were unknown, although in one letter Raguseius mentions the name of his father – Lucas.2 There is no information as to when he left Dubrovnik, but we know that he was schooled in Venice and Padua, receiving his doctoral degrees in philosophy (year unknown), theology (1592) and medicine (1601). From the summer of 1599 to the summer of 1601, he resided in Siena, Pisa, Florence, Rome and Naples, where he was involved in academic activities of the respective universities. Upon returning to Padua in the summer of 1601, he first began teaching theology (at the Santa Maria school in Avanzio), then natural philosophy at the Studio Patavino, after being appointed directly by the Doge Grimani to replace Cesare Cremonini as professor at the second Department of Philosophy (Cremonini was promoted to teach in primo loco). He stayed in Padua until his death in 1622, during which time he regularly taught Aristotelian natural philosophy. During those more than twenty years, Raguseius was also active as a promoter, one of the most famous doctorands he promoted was the famous English physician William Harvey in 1602. Raguseius was interested in astronomical questions as well: besides his publication of the Astronomico et filosofico discorso sopra l’anno M.D.X.C. calculato al meridian dell’inclita Città di Venezia (1590), he participated in discussions on the appearance of the Great Comet of 1618. In these discussions, Raguseius, quite atypically for a scholastic Aristotelian, insisted on the role of senses and experience in the evaluation of natural events: as he himself testifies, he praised the use of the telescope in acquiring first-hand experience in order “to resolve all the controversy tormenting the minds of many philosophers”.3 in a language besides Croatian is the Italian version of Marko Josipović’s book, published under the title Il pensiero filosofico di Giorgio Raguseo nell’ambito del tardo aristotelismo padovano (Josipović (1985)). 2 Josipović (1993) 17. 3 “[…] controversiam omnem dirimat, quae diu multorum philosophorum ingenia torsit.” This quote is from Raguseius’ letter to Francesco Contarini from 1611 (contained in his unpublished collection of letters collected under the title Epistolae morales, dialecticae et mathematicae and preserved in the British Library, MS Add. 10810. This quote is taken from Camerota (2014), 128, fn. 31. Georgius Raguseius against Astrology 321 According to several contemporary sources, Raguseius spent the rest of his life closely connected with the university life in Padua, often participating in agonistic public discussions, even with his closest associates such as his predecessor Cremonini – something which seems to have been a norm of academic etiquette. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century Italian universities (including those in Padua), it was statutorily prescribed that professors confront each other at least twice a year in a public disputations (disputationes). Raguseius’ very polemical altercation with Cremonini is well attested. Raguseius died in Padua on the 13th of January 1622, and was buried in the Church of St. Francis, also in Padua. Raguseius’ most significant philosophical works are the following two – quoted in full glory of their subtitles: Georgii Raguseii Veneti, in Patavina Academia philosophi ordinarii, peripateticae disputationes, in quibus difficiliores naturalis philosophiae quaestiones examinantur, praecipua, obscurioraque Aristotelis loca illustrantur. Eius animi sensa, qualiacunque tandem fuerint, ingenue aperiuntur, et veritas Catholicae fidei ubique inviolata servatur Peripatetic disputations of Georgius Raguseius of Venice, ordinary professor in philosophy4 at the Academy of Padua, in which more difficult matters within natural philosophy are examined and Aristotle’s more peculiar and darker places illuminated. The ideas of his mind, whatever they may be, are originally displayed and the truth of the Catholic faith is immaculately served, published in Venice in 1613; and Georgii Raguseii Veneti theologi, medici et Patavinae Scholae philosophi ordinarii Epistolarum mathematicarum seu De divinatione 4 The phrase “philosophus ordinarius” is somehow ambiguous and translating it as “ordinary professor” should be taken with caution. The common phrase was “philosophia ordinaria” and it should be understood as a part of pair “exatraodrinary” – “ordinary” subjects’ division. Lines (2012) 5 gives the following general description of the division: “[…] ‘ordinaryʼ subject were required for the degree and were typically taught by the most senior (and best paid) professors; ‘extraordinary subjects were taught less regularly (by more junior professors) and seem to have been optional, although they often covered what was taught in ordinary lectures in other years.” 322 Platonism and its Legacy libri duo. Quibus non solum divinatrix astrologia, verum etiam chiromantia, physiognomia, geomantia, nomantia, cabala, magia, ceteraeque huius generis superstitiosae disciplinae tanquam inanes exploduntur, et naturalibus rationibus a fundamentis penitus evertuntur Two Books of Mathematical Letters or On Divination by Georgius Raguseius of Venice, the theologian, physician and ordinary professor in philosophy at the School of Padua. They reject not only divinational astrology, but also palmistry, physiognomy, geomancy, nomancy, Kabbalah, magic and other superstitious and empty skills of that kind, which are then completely refuted from the ground up with natural explanations, published in Paris in 1623. III. On the Epistolae mathematicae seu De divinatione The book entitled Epistolae mathematicae seu De divinatione consists of two parts (“books”). The first book (1–235) contains seventeen letters written by Raguseius to different correspondents all dealing with astrology. The second book (236–599) contains twelve letters to different correspondents (236–599), dealing with other aspects of divination (the topics of each letter are: palmistry, physiognomy, geomancy, nomancy, Kabbalah, magic, necromancy, hydromancy, sorcerers, dreams, prophecies, and Sibylline frenzy). After book 2 there is a treatise entitled De pure et puella qui ad D. Antonii Confessoris altare delati revixisse putantur disputatio (600– 643), a sort of a medical treatise on different sorts of consciouslessness. The entire collection of letters was published
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